The latest round of unemployment figures has been released and southeast Iowa’s unemployment rate rose a little last month according to data released from the Iowa Workforce Development. Washington County has just under 12,000 people in the workforce. Washington County’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.8%, only one-tenth of a percent lower than July.

Unemployment rates averaged almost four-tenths of a percent higher in all of southeast Iowa. The lowest increase was in neighboring Johnson County while Iowa County’s unemployment rate went up by eight-tenths of a percent.

When compared to national figures, Iowa’s unemployment rate remains at three percent lower.